With all the talk of reform, we have completely forgotten the foundation of our health care system - the family doctor. Our self-inflicted pain comes not purely because of all the testing and legal battles that ensue, but because we have made the family doctor a poor bedfellow compared to her colleagues of specialists. The team leader is the lowest paid physician on the Hippocratic ladder. Why?
I don't really know the answer, but it all seems to stem from this painful realization that no problem or joint is small enough and specialty is required. The level of knowledge needed to eradicate even the smallest pain demands a very high price. On top of this, we seem to neglect the fact, as does this writer, that health care reform starts right here, in the mirror. This is where the family doctor is most needed. I thank God every day I have a great one.
As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. I shall try to do the same. From the last day of my thirties, I bid you all good tidings.
